The most-nominated titles this year include BioWare Austin’s MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, which grabbed six nominations, as well as multiple nominations for diverse titles including Omgpop/Zynga’s addictive social mobile app Draw Something, Playfish/EA’s Facebook treatment of one of gaming’s biggest franchises, The Sims Social, Blizzard Entertainment’s record-breaking PC online-integrated title Diablo III, Tiny Speck’s quirky casual MMO Glitch, and more.

The range of nominees this year highlights the constantly evolving online game ecosystem, which is particularly reflected in the Awards’ top prize categories, Best Live Game and Best New Online Game.

In the Best Live Game category, Rift (Trion World) and League of Legends (Riot Games), the latter of which was nominated in the same category at last year’s Awards, compete against titles including fan favorite CityVille (Zynga) and cornerstone title World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment). Best New Online Game nominees include the aforementioned Star Wars: The Old Republic, which runs against Omgpop's Draw Something and F2P mobile standout Rage of Bahamut (Cygames/Mobage), among others.

The Game Developers Choice Online Awards are a sister event to the Game Developers Choice Awards which takes place annually at GDC in San Francisco. The ceremony will be held on the evening of Wednesday, October 10, 2012 during the GDC Online, which takes place at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas October 9-11.

The Choice Online Awards-specific International Choice Awards Network (ICAN Online) is responsible for selecting both the finalists and the winners for each regular awards category. ICAN Online is comprised of an invitation-only group of 400 leading game creators from all parts of the online game industry.

Returning to the Game Developers Choice Online Awards for 2012 is industry veteran and popular host Mike Goslin of Rebel Entertainment, who will once again act as master of ceremonies during the "for developers, by developers" awards ceremony.

The complete list of finalists for the 2012 Game Developers Choice Online Awards, presented in association with 2012 Platinum Sponsor EdgeCast, are as follows:

Special Note: All nominees launched in public Beta or full launch in North America between June 2011 and May 2012, other than starred categories, which are for all currently-operating games.

Voting for the 2012 Game Developers Choice Online Awards “Audience Award” category opens in the near future on the official Awards website.

The Choice Online Awards will also feature two Special Award categories: the Online Game Legend Award and the Choice Online Awards Hall of Fame. These categories are designed to celebrate iconic developers and games that have left an everlasting impression and shaped the way that massive online games are played worldwide. Winners for the 2012 Awards categories will be revealed in the coming weeks.

More information about the Game Developers Choice Online Awards - part of the UBM Technology Game Network, as is this website - is available at the official website. GDC Online takes place in Austin, Texas from October 9-11, 2012. Information about sessions and registration is available on the official show website. All GDC Online pass holders, including the Expo Pass, will have access to the awards ceremony.